William Neff, The Plain Dealer

About Me:

A 25-year veteran visual journalist and four-time National Headliner Award recipient along with numerous other awards, my work covers a wide range of topics including science and technology, architecture and medicine.

Mr. Westfall, I'm privileged to have you weigh in on this — your name came up quite a bit in the course of my research as I'm sure you can imagine. Your comment is excellent. Believe me, as much as we all want to believe T.I.G.H.A.R. is on to something, facts such as the ones you cite here just keep bringing us back down to earth. The only thing I would say is, they do make a valid point that Nikumaroro is a lot bigger and more visually complex than people realize, and an aerial search — even from 100 feet up — conceivably could have missed them. Ric Gillespie spells out this case pretty convincingly here — have you seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL9FGsvB3E8
My feeling is that even if they're engaged in nothing more than wishful thinking, every time T.I.G.H.A.R. launches one of these expeditions, the memory and legacy of Amelia Earhart is refreshed in everyone's mind. And that's all to the good. The other thing that's all to the good is when experts such as yourself enrich the discussion by weighing in. Thank you!

Kevin, you are correct of course — but I wasn't attempting to delve into the details of exactly how the building's listing on the National Register of Historic Places prevented the developers from altering the building. I was just reporting the fact that it DID prevent them. As you say, had they chosen to change the building beyond the National Register's liking, no one would have stopped them -- but it would have cost them the tax credits that made the development possible in the first place. That's important, but it was beyond the scope of this graphic, which was about the challenges of working around the restrictions.

So it seems. Not sure how that happened. Good catch -- thank you!
While the number typed into the graphic is incorrect, the relative sizes of the Titanic and the Mather in the diagram appear to be accurate.

127, everything I've ever heard suggests that cinder block is porous from Day 1 and there's really no way to seal it aside from digging out the outside and putting moisture barriers in place. However, there may be some miracle technique out there that I don't know. What I would do (and we've got the same problem) is get some waterproofing quotes, and in the meantime, keep it as dry as possible with the dehumidifier.

Of course. Depending on whom you talk to, Glenn remains a somewhat controversial figure because of the Keating Five, the failed presidential bid, the rest of it. But I sometimes remind myself that John Glenn also had the option of disappearing into closed-door, big-bucks boardrooms for the rest of his working life, as some astronauts did; or rejecting his celebrity status and disappearing entirely, the way Neil Armstrong did. Instead, he chose to throw himself into politics, of all things, where the "second act" of his life would be subject to second-guessing and criticism -- where the reputation and superstar status he'd worked to achieve would be put at risk. And he paid the price. If all he wanted was money, or the spotlight, there were certainly easier, safer ways to attract them (hello, Buzz Aldrin!).

Hillary, they ran tests after the flight and determined that the heat shield signal was a false one. A short circuit someplace. They fixed it on all subsequent flights. Friendship 7 sits in the entrance area of the National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C., practically the first thing you see when you walk in. You can read all about the flight and watch all the films, but until you actually stand next to that tiny little capsule and visualize Glenn's ride for yourself, I think there's a still a big piece missing.

bjradke - as I researched this, I did find myself amazed at what an enlightened view the VA seemed to be taking with all this, treating and compensating veterans for illnesses when the chemical companies were still disputing any connection with AO. Your comment reminds me that nothing is ever as simple as it looks on paper, especially when it comes to medical compensation claims.

realdeal216, it sure was tempting to think that. But we were surprised, when it came down to it, at the controllers' readiness to launch that thing at a moment's notice whenever there was even a small clearing. They were literally seconds away from ignition. It's just that their flight rules are very, very finicky.